This is not the first time Pakistani politicians have fallen victim to “fake news”. In April, Senator Malik fell for The Express Tribune‘s April Fools’ article which stated the Pakistani government was naming Islamabad’s new airport after Chinese President Xi Jinping.

In December last year, then Defence Minister Khawaja Asif directed a nuclear threat to Israel in response to a fake news report that quoted Israeli defence minister threatening to “destroy [Pakistan] with a nuclear attack.”